Monika Hellwig’s 1982 history and theology of the sacrament of penance, Sign of Reconciliation and Conversion, is representative of the expectations that theologians and pastoral ministers had for expanded forms of the sacrament. Pope John Paul II’s 1984 exhortation, “Reconciliation and Penance,” produced a contrasting history to assert private confession to a priest as the

In his analysis of Monika Hellwig’s and John Paul II’s thought on penance, Bruce Morrill identifies a breakdown of shared meaning in the church. This response introduces Bernard Lonergan into the conversation. If Morrill has identified a collapse of consensus around sacramental reconciliation, Lonergan’s theological anthropology, especially regarding questions related to conversion and authenticity, may

In conversation with Bruce Morrill’s article, the author explores how the fundamental ecclesiologies of Monika Hellwig and John Paul II influence their theologies of the sacrament of penance. John Paul’s ahistorical ecclesiology leads to distress around the collapse of confession and to increased clericalism, and his millennial apologies for ecclesial sins raise further questions regarding

This article is an exercise in comparative theology from a Buddhist perspective. Christian liberation theology and engaged Buddhism both seek to empower people by liberating them from causes of suffering that prevent them from realizing their deeper identity and fuller potential. Christian and Buddhist liberation theologies differ in what they identify as the main conditions